Adjustable skeet weight for firearms

ABSTRACT

A MEANS FOR CHANGING THE BALANCE OF THE FIREARM SO THAT A SPORTSMAN MAY ADJUST TO THE FEEL OF HIS GUN, AND CONSEQUENTLY IMPROVE THE ACCURACY OF HIS SHOT. THE DEVICE ADDS WEIGHT BELOW THE BARREL OF THE GUN, SO AS TO IMPROVE THE ACCURACY OF THE FIREARM. MEANS ARE PROVIDED FOR QUICK ASSEMBLAGE AND DISASSEMBLAGE OF THE REQUIRED WEIGHTS. IN ADDITION, A &#34;PIGGY-BACK&#34; ARRANGEMENT OF WEIGHTING ALSO CONTEMPLATED IN THE DESIGN.

Nov. 16, 1971 J. 5. MARTIN EI'A ADJUSTABLE SKEET WEIGHT, FOR FIREARMS Filed Nov. 4 1969 h n km sm u ramam mm mm m EG v d rms fi e Uu m Hum r 8 v a EARL G. LARSON Attorneys United States Patent ADJUSTABLE SKEET WEIGHT FOR FIREARMS James S. Martin, Wayne E. Leek, and Perry J. Pierce, Jr., Mohawk, and Thomas G. Bauman, Herkimer, N.Y., and Earl G. Larson, Fairfield, Conn., assignors to Remington Arms Company, Inc., Bridgeport, Conn.

Filed Nov. 4, 1969, Ser. No. 873,987 Int. Cl. F41c 27/00 US. Cl. 42-1 R 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A means for changing the balance of the firearm so that a sportsman may adjust to the feel of his gun, and consequently improve the accuracy of his shot. The device adds weight below the barrel of the gun, so as to improve the accuracy of the firearm. Means are provided for quick assemblage and disassemblage of the required Weights. In addition, a piggy-back arrangement of weighting is also contemplated in the design.

This invention relates to adjustment weighting of firearms, and more particularly to a means of changing the balance of a gun without appreciably effecting its accuracy.

It was observed that when a sportsman finished shooting trap and turned his attention to his skeet model, he would usually find the firearm to be muzzle light. This would tend to make it a fast gun, effecting adversely the smoothness of swing. For this reason, many shooters would add weight to the forearm of the gun to make the muzzle heavier. The present invention contemplates a novel means of assembling and disassembling weights to change the balance. Weights are added below the barrel of the gun, since it has been observed that weight added directly to the barrel tends to effect the accuracy of the shot. The added mass will change the moment of inertia of the barrel and the gun will consequently have different recoil characteristics. Such a system is shown by the U.S. patent to Larson, No. 2,921,396, issued Jan. 19, 1960. Although the moment of inertia will also be eifected by a mass positioned beneath the barrel, it will not be influenced as greatly as it if were attached directly to the barrel itself. There are also other advantages of not attaching the weight to the barrel. -In the first instance, the rigors and vibrations of shooting are much less apt to disturb the positioning of the weight, if the weight is not mounted on the barrel. Secondly, mounting the mass upon the barrel would require cumbersome changes in remounting if a different barrel was desired to be fitted to the gun. Thirdly, it will not interfere with the gunsight. Fourth, it will have a better appearance; and fifth, it will not change the cooling characteristics of the barrel.

The present invention discloses mounting weights upon the magazine tube beneath the barrel of the firearm. A cylindrical housing capable of being screwed onto the end of the magazine is provided with a chamber for containing lead shot. The chamber can be filled, partially filled, or emptied. A take-up follower and magazine cap plug disposed within the chamber prevents the lead shot from shifting about. The housing has screw threads on both ends; one for mounting upon the magazine tube, and the other for stacking a second housing upon the first in piggyback fashion. In this way, several housings (more weight) may be used if so desired.

It is an object of the invention to provide an adjustable weight assembly for controlling the balance of firearms.

It is a contemplation of the invention to provide means of changing the balance of the gun without appreciably effecting the firing accuracy.

It is another object of the invention to provide an ad- "ice justable weight assembly for controlling the balance of firearms, that can be easily assembled to and disassembled from the gun.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a means of changing the weight of the gun, wherein the various weight elements may be stacked one upon the other in piggy-back fashion, and wherein each element may itself be adjusted to have a difierent weight.

The invention will be better understood and other objects and advantages will become apparent with reference to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows a skeet gun with a regular magazine cap on the end of the magazine;

FIG. 2 depicts an adjustable skeet weight attachment aflixed to the end of the magazine of a skeet gun; and

FIG. 3 shows a piggy-back arrangement for multiple stacked skeet weight attachments.

Generally speaking, the invention is for an adjustable weight assembly for mounting upon the magazine tube of a firearm. The assembly has a housing with an internal chamber in which weighting material is placed. Means disposed within said chamber are provided for taking up the unused chamber space produced when the chamber is not completely filled by the weighting material, whereby the material is compacted and prevented from shifting about in the chamber. Means are also provided for mounting the housing upon said magazine tube.

Now referring to FIG. 1, a skeet gun with a regular magazine cap on the end of the magazine is shown. A magazine housing 2 is positioned beneath the barrel 1. \A magazine cap 3 is mounted upon the end of the magazine.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a skeet weight attachment is aifixed to the end of the magazine in place of the magazine cap. The skeet weight attachment has a housing 6 which attaches to the magazine tube 4, the same as cap 3 did, by screwing on to screw thread 5. The housing has a cylindrical chamber 12, in which a varying amount of lead shot 14, or other weighting material is introduced. On the other end of the housing are screw threads 13 upon which magazine cap 3 is now placed. The screw threads 13, however, are also compatible with the inner threads of the housing at the point shown as 5. This makes possible stacking several of these attachments 6 one upon the other in piggy-back fashion as illustrated in FIG. 3. When the magazine cap is placed on the threads 13, a detent pin 17 acts to provide a click-stop arrangement. The pin is slidable in recess 18 and is biased toward the cap by the spring 15. A magazine cap plug 16 fits in the hollow cavity 19 on the inside of the cap 3. The plug abuts upon the lead shot 14 and compacts the shot as the cap 3 is tightened upon the screw threads 13. A follower 20, comprising a piston 11 atatched. to a rod 8 by screw threads 10, acts as a back-stop for the lead shot so that it may not run out into the unused space in chamber 12. Of course, the follower need not be used if the entire chamber is to be filled. In such a case, the chamber 12 will have a blind recess at point 21, instead of allowing rod 8 to connect up to the lock nut 7. The lock nut is fixed to the end face 23 of the magazine tube 4 along edge 22. The rod is given support by the magazine tube, and this support is passed on to the piston follower and housing to provide for a more rigid and sturdier structural arrangement. The rod 8 is attached to the lock nut by screw threads 9. Rod 8 may be shorter to provide more chamber space for the weighting material, or as previously mentioned, the follower can be dispensed with to obtain the full space within the chamber. The rod may also have an extension 24 protruding into the magazine tube which acts as a plug for the magazine tube so as to limit the number of shells that may be introduced therein.

Although the present design calls for screw threads and 13 as a means of attaching the housings to the gun and each other, it is conceivable that other means may be employed such as a bayonet fastener, to provide an even quicker disconnect feature. The only requirement necessary in this modification is that the locking or fastening method be capable of withstanding the rigors of shooting the gun.

Another modification to the design may include a spring element Within chamber 12 to bias the follower piston 11 against the lead shot 14, instead of using rod 8 and locking nut 7 to provide support to the follower. The spring would be stiff so as not to compress very much during recoil of the gun.

Still another variation of the follower-rod arrangement may be had by providing a rod with a screw-thread over its entire length. The piston follower is then screwed upon the thread to any desired position Within the chamber. A locking nut is provided upon the follower to prevent the follower from walking off the threads when subjected to shock or vibration during shooting.

Although the present invention has been described showing a preferred design, it is to be undersotod that various modifications and variations may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as those skilled in the art will readily perceive. Such modifications and variations are considered to be within the purview and scope of the invention and appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. Adjustable weight assembly for mounting upon a magazine tube of a firearm, comprising:

a housing having an internal chamber;

weighting material for placement within the chamber;

means disposed within said chamber to take-up the unused chamber space when the chamber is not completely filled by the weighting material, whereby the material is compacted and prevented from shifting about in said chamber; and

means for mounting the housing upon said magazine tube.

2. The adjustable weight assembly of claim 1, further comprising means for mounting a second housing element upon said housing in piggy-back fashion.

3. The adjustable weight assembly of claim 1, wherein the weighting material is lead shot.

4. The adjustable weight assembly of claim 1, wherein the mounting means is a screw thread arrangement.

5. The adjustable weight assembly of claim 1, wherein the housing has a substantially cylindrical chamber and the take-up means comprises a piston follower and a plug disposed within said chamber at opposite ends of the weighting material to compact said material between them.

6. The adjustable weight assembly of claim 5, further comprising a magazine cap that attaches to the housing and contacts the plug, and wherein the plug is biased into compacting said weighting material as the magazine cap is attached to said housing.

7. The adjustable weight assembly of claim 5, further comprising a rod attached at one end to said piston follower, and at its other end to said magazine tube, so as to provide support to the follower and housing.

8. The adjustable weight assembly of claim 7, wherein the rod has an extension member at its magazine tube end, said extension member protruding into the magazine tube, and acting as a plug for said tube.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,259,569 10/1941 King 421 R 3,105,411 10/1963 Browning 89-498 3,191,330 6/1965 Olson 42-1 R 3,251,270 5/1966 Seifried 89198 3,340,641 9/1967 Recker 421 R BENJAMIN A. BORCHELT, Primary Examiner C. T. JORDAN, Assistant Examiner 

